Chapter 101: The Die-Hard Fan of Orochimaru

"Aizen, I'll leave this mission to you and Pakura. After the Konoha Crush Plan, both the Sand Village and Konoha will be weakened, which benefits our organization's future plans. During the Chunin Exams, gather some intelligence on Konoha's Jinchuriki," Pain finally spoke.

For now, it seemed that there was no better solution than Aizen.

"Is gathering intel all that's needed?" Aizen asked Pain.

"Yes, it's not time to collect the Tailed Beasts yet." With that, Pain exited the Illusionary Projection.

One by one, the others also left.

"Brother Aizen, I envy you. Destroying Konoha, what an artistic endeavor. Well, goodbye for now. Tell me more about that 'mutual destruction' jutsu when we meet again. Art is fleeting beauty, mutual destruction... art! Hmph." With these words, Deidara also left the projection.

In the large enclosed space, only Aizen and Itachi remained, lit by the dim lamp.

"Aizen, what is your true objective?" Itachi finally spoke for the first time during the meeting.

"Didn’t I just explain clearly? Besides helping Pakura and Orochimaru take out the Fourth Kazekage, I won't do anything else. At most, I'll just watch how Sarutobi Hiruzen gets killed by his beloved disciple. Or... are you expecting me to do something?" Aizen said, though even he didn't believe his own words.

Itachi didn't respond, only giving Aizen a deep look before silently exiting the projection, disappearing from the space.

"The leader has agreed to our cooperation with Orochimaru," Aizen said, opening his eyes. This was the first thing he said to Pakura.

"Thank you, Lord Aizen."

Hearing this, even Pakura, usually calm and composed, couldn't suppress her excitement and joy, which was evident on her face.

Aizen smiled slightly without saying much and walked out of the room. "I’ll step out for a moment; it seems we have a guest."

Since Aizen didn’t like living in a secret room, Orochimaru had arranged for them to stay in a mansion.

It was late at night, and Aizen had sensed that Kimimaro had arrived. Unsurprisingly, Kimimaro was here because of Aizen's threat to Orochimaru earlier that day. Kimimaro, deeply loyal to Orochimaru, likely believed that Aizen was a threat to his master and came to eliminate him.

"You knew I would come?" Kimimaro asked, surprised to see Aizen walking out of the mansion. However, with confidence in his Shikotsumyaku ability, he remained calm.

"More or less. Though you and Haku have different personalities, strictly speaking, you two are quite similar." Aizen shrugged.

"Haku?" Kimimaro was confused. "Who's that?"

"Someone with a similar tragic past as you. I believe you've met him. Here's a hint: the boy from Kirigakure who follows the ninja carrying the Executioner's Blade," Aizen explained.

"Oh, her." Kimimaro remembered meeting Zabuza and Haku before encountering Orochimaru. After a moment of reflection, he spoke again. "Then, I assume you know why I’m here."

"Of course. You just want to remove what you see as an obstacle to your beloved Orochimaru. But I doubt you’ll succeed at something even your Orochimaru couldn’t do." Aizen shrugged again.

"Let’s find out." Kimimaro's expression became serious as he stared intently at Aizen.

He wasn’t bluffing. He knew he had to go all out. However, before understanding Aizen's abilities, he decided to test with long-range attacks first.

With that in mind, Kimimaro removed his shirt and readied himself, his body producing dozens of bone spikes.

Just as he was about to launch his Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets, a tree suddenly shot up from the ground, enveloping his entire body in an instant, leaving only his head exposed.

"This is…" Kimimaro was startled. When he looked ahead, Aizen had vanished.

In the air, only scattered cherry blossoms remained.

"This is a genjutsu. If you can break it, I’ll give you a fair fight. By the way, even your beloved Orochimaru can't break this illusion," Aizen's voice echoed from all directions.

It felt as though every petal was Aizen, making it impossible to locate him.

"Impressive, no wonder you’re called the God of Illusions. To ensnare someone so silently," Kimimaro muttered.

"However, illusions are just illusions. Even if this tree were real, I’d break free."

Kimimaro smiled confidently. The curse mark on his chest began to spread, and in the blink of an eye, he transformed into a monstrous figure, his back covered in spikes, a massive tail emerging.

With his newly enhanced strength, Kimimaro shattered the tree into pieces, freeing himself from the binding. However, the tree quickly regrew and bound him again. He broke free, and the process repeated.

Again and again.

Before long, Kimimaro was utterly exhausted.

In the distance, on a tall building, Orochimaru and Kabuto silently watched the scene unfold below.

"Orochimaru-sama, should we really let Kimimaro continue like this? His opponent is Aizen Fujiwara, and if things go wrong, he could lose his life," Kabuto said, though he made no move to intervene.

"Don't worry. This is my most beloved disciple. How could I bear to kill him?"

Aizen's voice suddenly sounded beside Orochimaru and Kabuto. At some point, he had appeared behind them, resting his hands on their shoulders.

"What the…" Kabuto was shocked, cold sweat beading on his forehead. Instinctively, he used a body flicker to distance himself from Aizen.

Orochimaru, though equally surprised, remained much calmer. Arms still crossed, he maintained a composed demeanor. "Aizen-kun, you’re as elusive as ever. What did you do to Kimimaro?"

"Nothing much. Your sickly disciple thought I was a threat to you and wanted to kill me, so I made a bet. If he can break my genjutsu, I’ll give him a fair duel. He’s fighting hard," Aizen replied indifferently.

"I apologize for Kimimaro's rashness. Could I ask you to release him from the genjutsu, Aizen-kun?" Orochimaru, unusually, lowered his proud head.

He knew that unless someone had mental energy stronger than Aizen's or an ability to see through and avoid illusions, breaking Aizen’s genjutsu was nearly impossible.